PureOS
Shares rank 48 of 63 Linux distributions by recommenders
Free, FSF-endorsed Debian-based operating system for phones and desktops, valued for privacy and containing no proprietary software. Critics say it lags on software releases and stability.
Free, FSF-endorsed Debian-based operating system for phones and desktops, valued for privacy and containing no proprietary software. Critics say it lags on software releases and stability.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 70%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
FSF-endorsed with no proprietary software
“PureOS running on my phone is endorsed by the FSF, i.e., has no blobs whatsoever”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “GrapheneOS fixes Android VPN leak Google refused to patch” “PureOS is endorsed by the FSF and contains no proprietary software.”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Fairphone is now officially available in the United States” “My smartphone runs an FSF-endorsed OS, PureOS. This is reality.”
Comment from 21 Feb 2026 in “F-Droid: "Keep Android Open"” - Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What open hardware do you wish existed?”
Actively maintained and based on Debian
“The OS is maintained by paid contractors, funded by Purism hardware sales and donations from users.”
Comment from 25 Oct 2026 in “Today, we hacked what we'd set out to hack: the iPhone” “its PureOS Linux operating system is actively maintained, and patches are still upstreamed”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?” “PureOS is actively developed and based on Debian.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” - Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “Samsung Upcycle Promise”
Runs on Librem and Pinephone hardware
“My Librem 5 running PureOS also supports external storage just fine.”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple” “I personally prefer GNU/Linux phones running Mobian or PureOS.”
Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “Welcoming Discord users amidst the challenge of Age Verification” “Librem 5/Pinephone can run PureOS/postmarketOS that do.”
Comment from 16 Aug 2026 in “Firefox for iOS now has a native adblocker” - Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux”
Privacy-focused and encrypted by default
“I can have a lot more confidence that I'm not installing anything that will harm me or spy on me”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “The Advantages of Mobile Linux over AOSP (LineageOS, CrDroid, GrapheneOS, etc.)” “not everything is fully working but as I said they prioritised privacy and FOSS”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” “it's a good thing that PureOS is LUKS-encrypted by default”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Phone is about to stop being yours”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not fully working yet
“not everything is fully working but as I said they prioritised privacy and FOSS”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” “a not-fully-ready distribution like PureOS”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google”
Other Linux distributions people recommend
The four most recommended other Linux distributions, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu | 560 | 493 | 53% | 12 | 10 yrs116 owners | — |
| Debian | 552 | 191 | 74% | 13 | 10 yrs62 owners | Approved |
| NixOS | 454 | 112 | 80% | 13 | 2 yrs69 owners | Approved |
| Fedora Linux | 437 | 131 | 77% | 12 | 2 yrs72 owners | Approved |
| PureOSThis page | 7 | 3 | 70% | 8 | — | — |
What people said
24 of the 25 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I can have a lot more confidence that I'm not installing anything that will harm me or spy on me”
“The OS is maintained by paid contractors, funded by Purism hardware sales and donations from users.”
“its PureOS Linux operating system is actively maintained, and patches are still upstreamed”
“get the full desktop mode with no restrictions, except the computing power.”
“already exist and work on phones”
“postmarketOS, Mobian, PureOS, and many more already exist. Support them, if you think it's important.”
“PureOS is endorsed by the FSF and contains no proprietary software.”
“Librem 5/Pinephone can run PureOS/postmarketOS that do.”
“PureOS runs on Librem and is decent.”
“PureOS is a bit behind on software releases compared to other available distros”
“a not-fully-ready distribution like PureOS”
“PureOS has far worse privacy and drastically worse security compared to iOS or AOSP.”
“not everything is fully working but as I said they prioritised privacy and FOSS”
“PureOS is actively developed and based on Debian.”
“Seems less stable than SailfishOS and Ubuntu Touch”
“PureOS running on my phone is endorsed by the FSF, i.e., has no blobs whatsoever”
“Instead of loading firmware in sensible manner like GrapheneOS or desktop Linux distros”
“it's a good thing that PureOS is LUKS-encrypted by default”
“Current PureOS Crimson is stable.”
“My smartphone runs an FSF-endorsed OS, PureOS. This is reality.”
“My Librem 5 running PureOS also supports external storage just fine.”
“I personally prefer GNU/Linux phones running Mobian or PureOS.”
“runs an FSF-endorsed operating system out of the box (PureOS)”
“Today, we have Mobian, postmarketOS, PureOS and many more GNU/Linux OSes for smartphones.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.